There was certainly a lot to like about Sunday's win against a struggling Seattle team. Football Outsiders argue that blow-out wins against inferior teams are one of the best predictors of play-off success, and this win fit the bill. As always, I saw both good and bad, and I will get to that Gettysburg Rule in a minute.
 
I should first say that we can stop all the questions about whether or not Miles Austin is for real. He is. We saw flashes in previous years, and now three straight games. The refs think he's for real, I'd say, granting PI calls on his personal appeal. But let's not be too quick to overlook his butterfingers. It's a little too easy to forget about those things when they work out okay, but for the second game in a row, Austin coughed the ball up. Against Atlanta, it bounced out of bounds. Sunday, it bounced back into his own hands. But you can't rely on lucky bounces - you have to hang on to the ball.
 
Nevertheless, it seems that right now, Austin and Romo are just on the same page. It seems like no matter what the coverage, if Romo wants to put the ball in Austin's hands, he's going to get it there. I thought Romo was a bit erratic for stretches of this game (more on that in a bit,) but never when he was throwing to Austin. I am thinking particularly about a rifle shot for a seventeen yard pickup from the Cowboys own eight yardline on first and ten, Romo sprinting out and directing traffic. It was a bit of a circus catch, but again, if it's Romo to Austin, it will be catchable, and Austin will catch it. They are just clicking. It isn't Aikman to Irvin, but you almost get the feeling it could be.
 
I like seeing Crayton back where I first became his fan - a reliable third down receiver, especially third and long. There was a point a couple of years ago where 75% of the passes to Crayton were for third down conversions. I used to wonder why defenses did not seem to notice that. He came up big on a couple third and longs Sunday, along with his incredible punt return (LOVE the stiff-arm on the punter!) Like Austin, he also dropped the ball once, but was saved by a lucky bounce. That has got to stop.
 
Romo ended up with a good stat line, but he was pretty erratic and inaccurate early on (again.) The team as a whole continues to start slowly, and Romo does so personally, as well. You like to see your quarterback complete at least 60%. At one point in the game, Romo was 12 of 25 (below 50%,) and I noted that he would need to complete eight straight passes to get over 60%. What did he do? Eight for eight for 82 yards and a TD. Well, there you go. Still, I'd like to see him start hot, too. Or just go really warm for the whole game. I know that sounds like nitpicking, but the fact is, no matter how well he is playing, he will throw another interception this year. I'm going to stick my neck out and say that every QB in the league is going to throw another interception this year. Romo started cold against the Giants, too, but because of turnovers, never had a chance to make up for it. But if you throw accurate balls throughout the game, you have a better chance to make up for the inevitable mistakes.
 
A particular concern, of course, if the complete absence of chemistry between Tony Romo and Roy Williams. It has gotten to the point of absurdity. When Williams adjusts in, Romo throws out. When Romo throws high, Williams falls down. When Romo throws low, Williams jumps. I exaggerate. A little. But I seriously don't get it. I would say it's like they've never played with each other, except that when they had actually never played together before, in the 2006 Pro Bowl, Romo completed 2 of 4 to Williams.
 
What gives?
 
So, let's talk about coaching. The first thing to note is the staff's failure to abide by what I call "The Gettsyburg Rule:"
 
When the opponent needs four scores with seven minutes to go, our back-ups should be brought forth on this field.
 
Yet, midway through the fourth quarter, Cowboys up 35-10, there was Romo, taking a sack and coughing up the ball. There was our brilliant, brittle Felix, charging into the waiting arms of a desperate defense. Am I the only one who remembers Romo breaking a finger on his throwing hand against Arizona last year? Or Felix missing two games already this year? One play can end a career.
 
Finally, on playcalling. It is easy to knock the playcalling when it doesn't work. Of course it was the wrong call when it doesn't work - that's just hindsight. I actually had some questions about calls that did work. In the first half, the team faced a third and short at midfield with a small lead. I was very afraid that Garrett would call a deep ball. He didn't. We rammed Barber up there for the first. That was a good call. There is a time to be conservative. A little while later, in the same situation, Austin motioned into the fullback position, then took a toss to the right. What? Are you kidding me? Everybody on the field knows Austin is not lead blocking. Why risk him? He is not a running back. And he fumbled when he hit running back kind of contact. I think that was a very bad call.
 
The last drive of the first half, needing at least a field goal to increase the lead to 7 points, I really thought we'd go very run-heavy once inside FG range, especially in long yardage downs. Instead, there were six consecutive passing plays. It ended with a touchdown, but honestly, I was baffled.
 
Ultimately, in a blow-out win, the team had 36 passing plays and 29 running plays. Take out the Romo scramble and add in the two Romo sacks, and it's 38 passes to 28 runs. How does that happen in a game the Cowboys dominated, when all three running backs were healthy? This is a team that has run for over 200 yards twice this year.
 
Look, I don't want to nitpick. It was a great win. And I know that the world will little note, nor long remember what I write. but I also don't want to pretend that just because it "worked," it was the always the best approach.
 
The next opponent is not Seattle.